Information flow‐based capability matching service for smart manufacturing

Abstract One of the main theories behind the worldwide ‘Factories of the Future’ movement is the idea that machines and systems, and thus the production system, are getting far more interconnected with each other to finally reach a certain level of self-organization and autonomy. We support this autonomy of the production system by introducing a matching framework that is based on a novel application of the theory of information flow (IF), also known as channel theory [1]. With the help of this IF matching framework, we support the decision of the production system on which machine is able to conduct a specific production step. A major component of this IF-based matching framework is what we define as the Capability Matching Service. This capability matching service relies on an iterative application of IF to reduce the complexity that arises when the requirements of different production steps have to be aligned with the production capabilities of the equipment and tooling that is available in a specific production environment and manufacturing system.